


the brightness of the sun

by youmeandem



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - Space, Angst, Drama, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-11 00:48:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11703294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youmeandem/pseuds/youmeandem
Summary: Kara’s hand twitches around her wrist, and heat rushes up to Lena’s face. She suppresses the urge to look down, instead moving her hand to tangle her fingers with Kara’s. Next to her, Kara lets out an almost inaudible sigh, and Lena has to look away to hide her smile.or:boarding school in space au





	the brightness of the sun

Lena’s never been in space before. She watches Earth get smaller and smaller as her pod speeds towards her destination, ripping through Earth’s atmospheres like it’s nothing. Part of her, the science nerd part, tries to figure out which one she’s in based off how high she is, but her pod’s too fast. Before she knows it, she’s closer to the moon than to Earth itself, and then she’s even past the moon.

In front of her, blackness spreads out for as far as she can see—and even farther than that. Thousands of planets hide in that darkness, and beyond that, thousands of galaxies. And somewhere, amidst all of that, her destination; Crucible Academy. She’s still trying to wrap her head around it.

There’s a clicking sound, and then a computerized voice fills the cockpit. “Hello, Ms. Luthor. My name is Owl, and I am the AI on this ship. I will serve as your assistant during your trip. I will provide answers for your questions, and I will safely pilot you to our destination. How may I help you today?”

Lena blinks, looking around the room, half-expecting a woman to stand behind her. But she’s alone. A grin spreads across her face. “Cool. Um, hi Owl. I’m Lena.”

“Yes, I know. I have downloaded your file. Your name is Lena Luthor. Age: 17. Species: Human. Planet of birth: Earth. Current occupation: Student at Crucible Academy.” Owl pauses. “Would you prefer to be called Lena?”

“Yes, please.” She frowns. Do AIs have feelings? Do AIs get offended if you don’t address them properly?

“I will call you Lena, then,” Owl says. “Is there anything else I can help you with for the time being?”

Lena tugs the strap of her safety belt. “Can I walk around? I was told the journey would take a week, and I don’t wanna sit in this chair the entire time.”

“Yes, you are not required to remain seated, except for takeoff and docking. Feel free to explore the ship. It is not big, but I have been told it is comfortable enough for a human to spend a week in.”

“Alright,” Lena grins. She unbuckles her safety belt, planting her feet on the metal ground. Walking around doesn’t feel any different from walking on Earth, and she’s almost disappointed by the artificial gravity keeping her to the floor.

Like Owl said, the ship’s rather small. There’s the cockpit, where she was seated during the launch, with all kinds of switches and buttons she knows better than to touch. Behind a door is a corridor leading to a small living area with a kitchen tucked into the corner, and there’s another door leading to the bedroom. Attached to that is the bathroom, with a label on the shower to be conservative when showering because “This ship is for short-term use only. Water is limited.”

“This is cool,” she says, to nobody in particular.

“I am glad you like it,” Owl says back, startling Lena. “There is food in the fridge, if you are hungry.”

“Not really. Thanks, though.” Lena steps back into the corridor, pointing past the few doors she’s opened. “What’s there? Wait, can you even see where I’m pointing?”

“I have cameras,” Owl replies. “You are pointing at the back of the ship. You are free to take a look, if you would like.”

The back of the ship isn’t anything special, except for the large window extending from side to side. The view is breathtaking. Lena presses her forehead against the cold glass to take a better look, jaw hanging open at the endless sea of stars. In the distance she can see the small spec that is Earth, with the much larger sun peering along the edges.

“Wow,” she whispers, her breath fogging up the window. “Are you seeing this? It’s incredible.”

“My cameras and sensors register everything that happens outside the ship, and I process this information. Currently, the outside of the ship is minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit.”

Lena chuckles. “Not what I meant, but cool.”

“Very cold, indeed.”

“I didn’t mean that type of cool.”

“Oh. I must apologize. Human slang is a tad difficult sometimes. I am still in the process of learning all of it. Give me a second, please.”

Lena waits.

Then Owl cranks out, “Hip. Hot. Neat. Dope. Swag.”

Lena laughs. “Yeah, something like that.”

“You are welcome, sis,” Owl says. “That is a dope T-shirt you have on.”

“Oh god,” Lena mutters, shaking her head. “I created a monster.”

 

~

 

The first few days fly by, but once Lena’s used to being in a spaceship, she quickly finds herself getting restless. Space travel is fun, but with only Owl to keep her company, Lena’s ready to see some real people again. She spends most of her time reading some of the books she brought with her, and even attempts to decipher the alien ones she found on the shelf in the living room, but even that gets boring. She watches a few foreign movies with English subtitles, emerges herself in documentaries about a bunch of different planets saved to the flatscreen’s storage, and asks Owl more questions than she can remember the answers to.

Sometimes she sits at the back window, staring at the stars and, occasionally, the planets, and wonders how space can be so vast when all there used to be was Earth. She thinks about Lex and his proud smile when he came to see her off. She hopes he doesn’t miss her too much; sometimes his emotions get the best of him. She misses him a lot, though.

On the sixth day Owl wakes her up by simulating an alarm clock, followed by, “Wake up, Lena. We have arrived.”

After the initial symptoms of a heart attack have subsided, Lena climbs out of bed, quickly changing into everyday clothes—dark wash skinny jeans and a white pocket shirt. “How long until we dock?”

“Approximately fifteen Earthen minutes.”

Lena’s stomach grumbles as she brushes her hair and washes her face, hurriedly putting on some makeup. She’s going to meet a lot of new people today, and considering she’s going to be spending a lot of time here, she wants to leave the best impression possible. After she’s done getting ready, she quickly eats a bowl of cereal for breakfast, and brushes her teeth.

With just a few minutes to spare, she shoves her stuff into her suitcase, grateful to her past self that she cleaned up the night before. And then the engines are revving in preparation to dock. Lena runs to the front of the ship, sitting down in the same chair she started this journey in, and puts on the safety belt.

Through the front windows she sees a ship bigger than anything she’s seen before. It’s built in a circle, with a power source that looks a lot like a sun on the opposite side of where she is now. It’s too bright to look at directly, but she can see thick wires and other structures going into the walls of the building on each side of the source, and she finds herself wishing she could take a closer look. You can’t find engineering like this on Earth—one of the first signs she’s about to dabble in unknown territory.

The ship itself is magnificent. As her pod moves closer, towards the docking station, she feels smaller than she ever has before, and she briefly wonders how no one ever noticed this huge spaceship floating around. Then again, they’re probably in a different galaxy now. Somewhere Earth’s technology can’t reach yet.

For a moment, she tenses up with anxiety. If something goes wrong—if these people are not who they say they are—she’s all alone. She doesn’t know anyone out here, and none of the people she’s about to meet are even human. The only person she knows is Owl, and Owl isn’t even a real person.

Suddenly she doesn’t want to do this anymore. In theory travelling across the galaxy on her own had seemed cool and exciting, but now it’s more terrifying than anything else.

She has half a mind of taking over the controls and flying herself back home, but before she can move a muscle, there’s a loud click followed by a clink and the sound of a vacuum cleaner sucking all the air out of her ship’s tiny entrance hall. All the ship’s machines turn off, and the dashboard lights dim. She almost expects to choke on her next breath, but everything is fine.

“Lena? We have successfully docked. You are free to leave the ship now.” Owl’s voice is unexpectedly loud without the humming sounds of oxygen tanks, gravity mechanisms, and engines roaring in the background.

Lena takes a deep breath. Everything is gonna be fine. She’s going to be fine. This is exciting—an adventure!

She unbuckles her safety belt. She walks to her bedroom. She grabs her suitcase. She makes her way to the pod’s exit. The doors are still closed, but Lena knows there must be people waiting for her on the other side.

“Owl?”

“Yes, Lena?”

“Thank you for flying me out here.” A rush of emotion closes up her throat, but after spending a week with Owl, Lena knows better than to expect a heartfelt reply.

“You do not have to thank me. It is my job as this ship’s AI.” Owl pauses. Then the nearest camera zooms in with a soft whirring sound. “It was a pleasure to fly with you, Lena.”

Lena smiles into the camera, hoping Owl will recognize that facial expression as one of gratitude. She never thought she’d grow attached to an AI, but then again—she’d never thought she’d be this far from home either.

“I’m ready,” she says, gripping the handle of her suitcase extra tight.

The door slides open. On the other side are three people. The first one is Lys Amata, the woman Lena talked to over video calls. She’s taller than the average human, and her skin and cape are purple. She’s wearing a black suit, with golden details, and both sides of her face are covered in what seems to be a golden mask. Long, blue hair waves down over her shoulders, and her piercing light blue eyes contrast the warm smile on her face.

Next to her is a human-looking girl, who looks to be Lena’s age. Her hair is a dark blonde, and her light eyes are twinkling with excitement. She’s wearing some kind of suit made from blue material with a red skirt, high, red boots that go past her knees, and a cape. Peering out from where she has her arms crossed is a symbol that looks a little like an S, but surely means something completely different on whatever this girl is from. Her smile is radiant, and she looks excited to meet Lena.

A little more to the back is another tall woman, staring at Lena with a serious look on her face. Her skin is slightly tanned, and her brown hair is tucked back by a tiara. Despite wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans instead of battle armor, Lena’s eyes widen with recognition.

“Wonder Woman?” she gasps. “How—what? I thought…”

Wonder Woman shares a glance with Lys Amata, stepping forward. “Up here they just call me Diana, or Ms. Prince.” She extends her hand, her ever recognizable bracelets catching Lena’s attention as she shakes it.

Wonder Woman, Diana, gestures at Lys Amata and the blonde girl. “You have met Ms. Amata over video call when we recruited you, and this here is Kara Zor-El, from the planet Krypton. She’s the closest to human physiology we could find, and we thought it would be best for you to have a welcome committee that isn’t too different from what you’re used to seeing.”

Lena shakes hands with Lys and Kara, surprised at Kara’s strong grip. She doesn’t look threatening at all, but Lena’s sure there’s something special hidden behind that smile.

“Yes, indeed,” Lys says, stepping forward at the same time Diana takes a step back. “Like Ms. Prince just said, my name is Lys Amata, and I’m the preceptor. Lena Luthor of Earth, welcome to Crucible Academy.”

 

~

 

Crucible Academy, where the finest specimen of each planet are chosen to attend school on a spaceship across the galaxy. For months, Lex and Lena repeated these words to each other in mocking voices. From the moment Lena found out she had been selected, she hasn’t quite been able to grasp the concept. A school filled with aliens floating somewhere in space wanted  _ her _ to attend. Her. Not Lex, whose brain was praised by everyone and their mother, whose invention used to get all the attention at science fairs, whose brilliance was never once doubted. Her. Lex’s little sister.

Finding out there’s even such a thing as Crucible Academy was less shocking than learning they wanted  _ her _ .

Of course, Lex was the first to say she should go, and how proud he was for his baby sister to be chosen. He had always been Lena’s number one supporter, teaching her everything he learned in school the second he got home, helping her with her extra credit homework, and driving hours upon hours to get them to science conventions all over the country.

And now she’s here. Without Lex. Surrounded by all these people—these  _ aliens _ . Diana was right. It’s nice to have some people with familiar features around. According to the text books she’d been sent to study in preparation for classes as Crucible Academy, not many planets had human-looking inhabitants.

Lys Amata is still talking—about the history of this place, the rules Lena’s expected to follow, the different types of classes she will attend. Her voice is soothing to listen to, soft and gentle, unlike Diana’s.

Lena’s eyes flicker over to where Diana’s standing, and she can’t wait to tell Lex she met  _ Wonder Woman _ . He’ll be so jealous.

“—and you are expected to take some language courses, too, for communication purposes. Some languages won’t be an option for you, because of the way your vocal cords work, but others, like Kryptonian, are highly recommended. Do you have any further questions?”

Lena blinks, her attention snapping back to Lys. “Uh…”

“I understand it’s a lot to take in at once,” Lys says, a smile tugging at her lips. “That is why we have appointed Kara to be your guide for the first week. She speaks excellent English, and she’ll be able to help you with any questions you might come up with.”

From behind her, Kara smiles a reassuring smile. “I will take great care of you.” She has a slight accent—Kryptonian, Lena guesses. She turns her attention to Lys. “Should I show Lena around now?”

“Yes,” Lys nods. “Classes start the day after tomorrow, so feel free to take the remainder of today and tomorrow to explore. Most of our students, and all of our staff speaks English, so the language barrier shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Come on,” Kara says, wrapping her fingers around Lena’s wrist. “I’ll show to your room first. It’s down the hall from mine, actually.”

Not sure what else to do, Lena lets Kara pull her through the corridor—away from the ship that had been home for the past week. She glances over her shoulders before they turn a corner, catching a last glimpse of Diana and Lys talking to each other.

“I didn’t know you and Ms. Prince knew each other,” Kara says, not letting go of Lena’s wrist. Her grip is tight, a little too tight, but Lena’s not sure whether she should say something about it. Perhaps the rules for physical contact are different on Krypton, and she doesn’t want to offend Kara by being disrespectful on her first day here.

“We, um, I don’t  _ know _ her. I know  _ of _ her. She’s a superhero on my planet.”

Kara frowns. “A superhero? I’m unfamiliar with that word.”

“Someone who saves other people? She fights bad guys and helps out when there’s a natural disaster.”

Kara’s lips form an O. “That makes sense, I suppose. She’s our Culture and History of Earth teacher. We haven’t had that class that long, just a couple of months before the break. I’m pretty sure they started giving it because of you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. You’re from Earth. They probably wanted us to be prepared. We may look alike, but there are a lot of different species here. If you know what to expect you’re less likely to be rude about something. Knowledge is great like that.”

Kara leads her through a series of doors and corridors, and even though Lena’s trying to memorize the way they walked, everything looks the same. If it weren’t for Kara, she’d get lost within seconds.

During their walk, Kara points at several doors, naming the rooms that are behind them. “These are our living quarters. Every student has their own room, simulated to look like their home planet. Food is down in the cafeteria, and they have all kinds of different types of food from every planet. I hope you’re not a picky eater, because some stuff look gross but tastes amazing. And there are several recreation rooms that you’re free to use whenever you don’t have class, although some might not be adapted for your body. But don’t worry, I’ll show you all the good ones later.”

She continues to ramble on about all the facilities and different teachers and pretty much everything, and by the time she finally stop talking, Lena’s head feels like it’s gonna explode with information.

“This is your room,” Kara smiles, letting go of Lena’s wrist to grab something from her boot—a keycard. Lena subtly tries to rub her wrist, moving her fingers to stimulate her blood flow to her hand, hoping Kara won’t grab it again.

She doesn’t. She holds the keycard in front of the lock, and the door opens with a click. Holding it open, she gestures at Lena to step inside.

Lena isn’t sure what she expected, but it certainly isn’t this. The walls of her room are painted a broken white, and the interior is mostly warm browns and beige. There’s a large bed against the far wall, and a small, lowered area with a couch, a coffee table, and what looks like a television screen. The fake window shows the skyline of a city Lena doesn’t recognize. There is even a fireplace with real wooden logs.

Lena puts her suitcase to the side and walks around the room, discovering a large walk-in closet behind a moveable panel in the wall, and even though it looks more like a luxury hotel room than her own bedroom at home, she’s pretty sure she’ll have absolutely no problems with living here.

“Is this what a typical Earthen bedroom looks like?” Kara asks from the doorway, leaning forwards to take a better look.

“I suppose,” Lena says, letting herself fall on the bed. She almost disappears into the half dozen pillows, and a laugh bubbles up from her throat. She spreads her arms, her fingertips not even grazing the sides of the mattress, and lets out a sigh. Yeah, she could get used to this.

When she sits up again, Kara’s still standing in the doorway, a curious look on her face. Lena smiles at her. “You can come in, if you want. I don’t know about Kryptonian culture, but on Earth only vampires wait this long to be invited in.”

Kara steps inside, tilting her head to the side. “What’s vampires?”

“Oh,” Lena chuckles. “Of course you don’t know about vampires. They’re, um, this mythological creature that drinks blood and burns in the sunlight. I’m pretty sure it’s just a story, though.”

“You have interesting stories on Earth,” Kara says. Now that she’s in Lena’s room she looks less certain of herself, nervously playing with the hem of her cape.

Lena reluctantly leaves the bed to sit on the sofa, patting the empty space besides her. “You can sit, if you want.”

Kara takes a few hesitant steps, and Lena briefly wonders if she’s overstepped some Kryptonian boundary she wasn’t aware of. But Kara sweeps her cape to one side and sits down, relaxing into the back of the sofa once she realizes how comfortable it is.

Lena purses her lips. “Can I ask something?”

Kara nods. “Of course.”

“Why do you wear that?” Lena gestures at Kara’s outfit. “Is it, like, some kind of uniform?”

“Something like that.” Kara points at the symbol on her chest. “This is my family’s coat of arms. It means El. My name is Kara Zor-El, you see?”

“And the cape?”

“My mom had it made for me. I don’t wear it all the time, just for special occasions, and sometimes training. Meeting you is a special occasion.” Kara smiles, holding up her cape. “Do you wanna feel it? It’s made from materials you don’t have on Earth, I don’t think.”

Kara’s right. The cape’s texture is unlike anything Lena has ever felt before. It feels tough, like nothing could break through it, but there’s a certain smoothness Lena can only compare to silk—except better.

“That’s cool,” Lena grins. “What’s it called?”

Kara’s brow crinkles for a moment. “There’s no English word for it, because Earth doesn’t have this material, but I think it’s most like taffeta? I’m not sure, though. In Kryptonian we call it…” and then she says something in such a foreign language it almost sounds more like a grunt than a word.

“Oh,” Lena says. “Yeah, no I get it now.” She makes a weak attempt at repeating the word Kara just said, grinning when Kara laughs at her mispronunciation.

Kara’s laugh is really pretty.

They say the word back and forth a couple of times until Lena’s close to pronouncing it sort of right, and Lena almost forgets she’s on a spaceship with only aliens, farther away from Lex than she ever thought possible.

“How long have you been here?” she asks eventually, leaning her cheek against the soft fabric of the sofa.

“One year,” Kara says. “As in, I’ve spent all of last year here, and then I went home to Krypton for two months on a break. Everyone has a break on a different time, depending on where their home planet is and when certain holidays are, and things like that.”

“Don’t you miss your family?”

Kara gives her a sad smile. “Yeah, I do. But I know they’re proud of me for being here. My aunt said this is even better than being the youngest member of the Science Guild, because Crucible’s reputation extends across multiple galaxies, and the Science Guild only means something on Krypton.”

“Your aunt sounds smart.” Lena tries to imagine what Krypton is like, but she hasn’t read anything about Kara’s planet yet. “My brother’s proud of me, too. Everyone always thought he was the smarter one, but I guess they were wrong.”

“You have a brother? That’s cool. I always siblings, but that never happened. I do have a baby cousin, though. He’s three and he’s adorable. His name is Kal-El.”

“My brother’s Lex. He’s twenty, though. Not adorable anymore.” Lena laughs.

“He sounds nice.”

“Oh, he’s not. He hates everyone, except me. Guess that’s what makes him such a good brother.” Lena sighs, making a mental note to remind Lex not to do anything stupid while she’s gone the next time she talks to him.

They talk about family a bit more, and then switch subjects to which classes are fun and which aren’t. Kara tells about her favorite teachers—Diana is one of them—and the ones she hates. She explains the social scene, dropping a lot of names Lena forgets the second she hears them, and reassures Lena that even though some people have strange powers they’re not actually dangerous.

Hours fly by and the landscape in Lena’s fake window starts to grow dark—the artificial days unaligned with Earth. Lena makes another mental note to figure out the time zones in regard to Metropolis as soon as possible.

When Lena’s stomach grumbles, Kara’s head shoots up. “Sounds like it’s time for dinner. I’ll introduce you to my friends, I’m sure you’ll get along great. Don’t forget your keycard.”

 

~

 

Crucible’s dining hall is, like pretty much everything else, massive, with walls made of some type of metal. It’s a lot like a high school cafeteria, except the ceiling is made of glass with stars shining through, and there are at least twenty times more tables.

It’s also crowded, and if Lena momentarily forgot she’s surrounded by aliens, she’s harshly reminded of it the second she sets foot into the dining hall.

Everyone looks so different from each other she has no idea where to look. There are people with the same anatomy as Kara and herself, but there are also people with six legs, or none at all. She spots someone with tentacles, and right in front of her is someone whose face seems to be upside down. If it were up to Lena she’d freeze time and study every single person individually, and she has to remind herself these are  _ people _ , not test subjects. But still. It’s fascinating.

“Wow, this is amazing,” she says, trying to take it all in.

Next to her, Kara chuckles. “Get used to it. This is your home now.”

Lena follows Kara across the dining hall, passing all kinds of interesting looking people on their way. She tries her hardest not to stare, but she has never seen anything like this before, and it’s in her nature to be curious. More than a few pairs of eyes stare back at her, and she realizes they must be just as intrigued by her as she is by them. After all, she may look like Kara, but they’re still different species. There must be some differences between them.

About halfway across the hall, Kara stops walking. She leans against a table where a handful of people are sitting, saying something in a language Lena doesn’t understand but also isn’t Kryptonian. She catches her own name, an odd sound mixed in with all those unfamiliar words, and everyone turns to look at her.

“She only speaks English,” Kara says, in English. “Lena, these are my friends. They’re all excited to meet you.”

A variety of greetings is thrown at her, each one spoken with a different accent. Closest to Lena is a fairly human-looking boy with black hair and something that looks like a red hoodie. He smiles a charming smile at her, scooting over to offer her a seat.

Lena looks over to Kara, who shrugs, and sits down opposite of the now-empty space. Lena follows her example, looking back at the boy.

He grins. “Hi, I’m Comet. You’re probably thinking, ‘How come this handsome fella looks so human compared to everyone else?’ And you’re right. I am handsome. My species evolved from yours, only we’re about a thousand years ahead. We have some nice tricks up our sleeve, for example—I’m pretty much invulnerable.”

“Stop bragging, asshole,” another voice, a girl, says. “She’s not interested in your lame story about how your great grandparents travelled back in time and got stuck on their stupid spaceships.”

“Um, actually—” Lena tries, because  _ time travel exists? _ But the owner of the voice ignores her, leaning forward to look past Comet.

“Hi,” she grins. “I’m Maxima.” Her voice is low and raspy, and her accent is only slightly stronger than Kara’s. She has reddish brown skin, and red hair that’s kept together by some type of golden headband with emerald green stones that match her outfit. The hand she holds out for Lena to shake is gloved with the same green material, and it feels almost just as smooth as Kara’s cape. Lena wonders why Maxima’s wearing gloves inside, when it’s not even cold, but she refrains from asking, mostly because she doesn’t want to offend anyone with her ignorance.

“Lena,” Lena smiles. “Nice to meet you.”

Maxima’s eyes narrow and she tilts her head. “Why is your accent different from Ms. Prince’s? I thought you were both from the same planet.”

“Different parts of the planet,” Lena shrugs. “We speak different languages in different parts of the world.”

“Wait, really?” Kara says, leaning forward a little. “There are multiple languages on Earth? Do you speak all of them?”

Lena laughs. “No, I only speak English, French, some Spanish, and a little bit of German. Most people don’t speak more than two languages, and usually one of them is English. I believe Ms. Prince’s first language wasn’t English either, judging by her accent.”

Across the table, a wolf-type of man with blueish white fur grins his fanged teeth bare. “My world also has multiple languages. Each kingdom has its own language, but most people speak at least two, like on Earth.”

Lena can’t help it—she’s staring at him. Even when he’s sitting down he’s a full head taller than Kara, and his hands, his  _ paws _ are enormous. He’s holding a knife, but it almost seems unnecessary with claws like his. If he wanted he could probably rip everyone’s face open with a single swing, but no one else seems bothered by that fact.

He extends one of his large, furry arms, taking Lena’s hand in his own. He feels soft and warm like a dog, but Lena can’t ignore the way his claws are slightly digging into her wrist. “I’m Tsavo II, named after my father, King Tsavo I.”

Lena quirks one eyebrow, swallowing down her fear. There’s no reason to be scared, she tells herself. Just because Tsavo looks threatening, doesn’t mean he actually is. Otherwise Kara and everyone else wouldn’t be friends with him. “You’re royalty?”

“One of the better ones, if you ask me,” Kara says, patting Tsavo’s bicep. “You’ll find the ‘finest specimen’ sometimes includes arrogant, useless,  _ annoying _ —” She takes a deep breath. “Trust me, you’ll soon know what I mean.”

Maxima lets out a bitter laugh. “One of them has been asking Kara out since she arrived on Crucible last year. He’s not used to rejection, and he keeps trying, even though she clearly said she wasn’t interested.”

“He’s the worst of all,” Kara groans. “I wasn’t even single most of the time.”

Lena doesn’t miss the way Kara’s eyes flicker over to Maxima for half a second, and from the corner of her eyes she sees Maxima’s face fall. Tsavo and Comet must have noticed it, too, because Comet awkwardly clears his throat, and Tsavo is suddenly very interested in the leftovers from his dinner.

A few tense seconds pass, until Kara jumps up from her seat in one fluid motion. “Lena! Let’s get some food, alright? I’m hungry.”

Lena nods, grateful for the distraction. She gives Kara’s friends a smile, before getting out of her seat, and following Kara to the kitchens. Catching up with Kara, she bumps elbows. “What was that?”

“Hm? Oh. Maxima and I dated for a couple of months last year, but I broke it off before my break. Mostly because I wasn’t in love with her—not as much as she was in love with me, at least. I didn’t want to keep leading her on like that, you know?” Kara sighs, looking over her shoulder to the table. “We’re better off as friends. I just wish she’d see that, too.”

“I’m sure she will,” Lena says. “She probably just needs time.”

“I hope so. We used to be really close, and now it feels like I ruined all of that.” Kara gives her a sad smile, before unsubtly changing the subject. “Alright, so there are lots of different types of food, based on every culture that’s represented at Crucible. I’m sure you’ll be able to find some Earthen foods on here, too—we grow everything ourselves in the greenhouses.”

Lena nods. “I read the ship is completely self-sustainable.”

Kara raises her eyebrows, an amused smile on her lips. “I can’t believe you’ve actually read that folder.”

“I didn’t have anything to do on the journey here. I spent a whole week with only an AI to keep me company. It gets old after a while,” Lena says, holding up her hands in self defense.

“Travel pod’s don’t have very modern AIs. Some planets have nearly perfected the code in their androids—most of them are completely sentient. You wouldn’t know the difference if you met one. It’s quite a controversial topic. Some people think those types of androids should have the same rights as everyone else, some think they shouldn’t, since they’re not really alive, you know? You’ll learn about it in class, I’m sure.”

Lena can barely stop smiling. Sentient androids surely beat the single-function robots she used to build in school out of pure boredom.

They’ve reached the buffet, and the first thing Lena sees is a tray with bugs, the size of tennis balls, lying on their backs with all their creepy legs still attached. Their bellies are cut open and filled with all kinds of stuffing, and some of the students are loading them onto their plates with excitement.

Lena’s not sure whether she wants to scream and run away or throw up her stomach so she won’t ever have to eat one of those things.

Kara laughs and wraps her hand tightly around Lena’s wrist to pull her away from the bugs. “They’re actually really tasteful. A little spicy, but that’s what makes them so good.”

“I don’t really care,” Lena says, still gagging. “I’ll just eat something else. Don’t you just have, like, chicken or something?”

“I don’t know what chicken is, but I’m sure we’ll be able to find something you like.” Kara lets go of Lena’s arm, reallowing blood to flow, to grab both of them a plate and a tray. “Just wander around to see if there’s something you want to try.”

Lena nods, mentally writing a large cross on the floor in the direction of where the bugs are. She anxiously walks past all the different types of food, scared to find something even worse than the bugs, but there’s nothing as bad as that. Lots of unfamiliar plants she isn’t sure of whether they’re fruits or vegetables, and a few times there’s a sign in multiple languages that says ‘Do not eat unless you are …’ followed by a certain species she’s never heard of before.

Eventually she has a plate full of foods that look slightly familiar, either because she’s read about them or because they resemble Earthen foods, and when she returns to where Kara’s patiently waiting for her with her plate of food—without bugs, thank god—she’s excited to taste all the new flavors.

“Ah, these are good,” Kara says, pointing at something that initially looked like tomato slices but turned out to be more solid upon touch. “I’d still recommend trying the bugs, but we’ll leave that for another day.”

Lena makes a face. “If by another day you mean never then yes, great idea.”

“I’ll get you to try one eventually.” Kara wiggles her eyebrows. “Ask anyone. They’re great.”

“Hm-m. Sure.” Lena’s not a picky eater, but she’s not going to dissect a bug, especially not when all those legs are still attached like it could roll over and walk away, stuffed belly and all.

Once they’re back at their table, the tension has left the air, and Maxima doesn’t look like she’s about to burst into tears anymore. Everyone finished their dinner before Kara and Lena came in, but they keep them company anyway.

Kara’s right—Lena does get along with Kara’s friends. Maxima is sassy and easy to talk to, Comet might be a tad arrogant but he’s funny and genuinely interested in what other people have to say, and even Tsavo doesn’t seem threatening anymore after the concerned looks he gave Lena when she silently choked on something sharp.

And Kara…Kara’s really nice, too. Lena can’t imagine it to be fun to show around some wide-eyed newcomer from what seems to be the most subordinate planet in all the galaxies, but Kara’s playing the part well. She patiently answers all Lena’s stupid questions, and explains everything Lena doesn’t understand. She doesn’t seem to mind having a pet-human tagging along with her group of friends at all—in fact, she seems really excited to have met Lena.

And she’s pretty. Like, really pretty. That surely helps, too.

 

~

 

The next morning, Lena wakes up confused. She still isn’t used to this room, and the constant humming of the gravity, light, and other life-support systems still freaks her out a little.

But then Kara knocks on her door to go to breakfast together, and she’s slowly settling into this new group of friends, who are all eager to show her around the ship. From the outside it looks big, but on the inside it feels even bigger.

Lena learns there are several wings, each with a different purpose. There’s the residency wing, which is divided into several parts for optimal comfort for each species, or, as Maxima likes to say, for everyone’s weird bodies not to fall apart. On one side of the residency wing is the dining hall, with the kitchen attached to it, which, in turn, is attached to the greenhouses and livestock farms. On the other side is the school itself, with all kinds of classrooms adjusted to the courses that are given in them. Scattered all around the building are rec rooms, and study rooms, and pretty much everything a bunch of teenagers need.

“It’s like a small city,” Kara says, after they’ve toured the entire ship twice.

“A small city with only underage kids, a bunch of supervisors, and tech from all over the galaxy,” Comet adds. “What can I say? If all of the galaxies imploded on themselves, we would probably have the best chances at survival.”

“If all the galaxies implode no one would survive that, dumbass,” Maxima says, rolling her eyes. “Especially not Crucible, since we’re just floating in space instead of actually circling a sun or something.”

Lena looks up. “Oh, yeah, about that. How does the power work? There’s that one big power source, right? I saw it when my travelling pod was docking.”

Kara grins, gesturing at everyone to follow her. She leads them to a corridor with a window that’s facing into the circle. Across from them is the power source, glowing brightly against the darkness of space.

“It’s an artificial sun,” she says. “All the systems are, essentially, solar powered.”

Lena’s eyes widen. “A  _ sun _ ? Like, an actual sun? If that’s a sun, shouldn’t we be burning up or something?”

“The keyword here is  _ artificial _ ,” Comet says, rolling his eyes. “It’s not hot. I don’t know much about science, so don’t ask me how it works, but it’s just a power source. Not an actual sun.”

“The heat is redirected into the sun’s core to keep it active. It basically charges itself by existing, and Crucible uses some of that power to run its systems and stuff,” Kara says. She jabs her elbow into Lena’s side, which actually hurts a little, and smiles. “Guess you’ll be learning about that sort of stuff in your classes, right? Since you’re a science major.”

Lena nods absentmindedly, rubbing over the sore spot on her ribs. She stares at the artificial sun through the window, wondering how the science on Earth can be so far behind if things like this already exist. In here, she won’t be the smartest kid in her class anymore. No matter how many years ahead of normal science she was back in Metropolis, none of this is normal. At this point, none of it is even just advanced. It’s bigger and better than anything she could’ve ever imagined, yet here she is—in the center of it all, waiting to be the one to bring all this knowledge back home.

 

~

 

Classes start two days after Lena arrived on Crucible. First semester, everyone has the same classes—except the ones about your home planet—mixed with classes for your specialty, your major. Lena’s is science, which means she’ll take chemistry, physics, and mathematics classes. Second semester is dedicated to your specialty, and they’re the only classes you’ll take. If any important holidays occur you’re given a week off to go home and spend time with friends or family, but you’re still expected to have done the reading and finished your homework when you get back.

Lena’s first class is Culture and History of Krypton, which she shares with a bunch of other first years’. Instead of sitting at desks, they sit in floating bubbles with tables attached to them, and the teacher, Tyr Ji, is on a platform in front of them, showing pictures of his home planet.

All of them show a barren planet circling a red sun, with crystals scattered all over its landscapes. Rather than having continents and large bodies of water like Earth, Krypton seems to be mostly land, but only parts of it are inhabited by people. In several pictures there are futuristic-looking buildings and vehicles, and Lena can’t help but wonder how humans and Kryptonians can look so much alike when there are so many differences between their planets.

They learn about the basics of the guilds: military, science, artists, religious, and labor. Kara talked about them before, explaining how if she hadn’t been recruited for Crucible, she would’ve probably ended up joining the Science Guild like her father. But now that she’s training to be the protector of her world, she’ll become part of the Military Guild instead, like her mother and her aunt.

When class is over, Lena finds herself wishing it would’ve gone on forever. She loves learning about Kara’s home planet.

Next is a martial arts class that Lena isn’t too sure will help her become a better scientist, but it’s part of the basic curriculum. She’s not surprised to find Kara already there, wearing the same outfit she had on when they met a couple of days ago. She is, however, surprised to find that Kara’s not just a pretty face with a good set of brains.

During the warming up, Lena’s jogging around the room with everyone else, but Kara’s doing something else completely—she’s flying.

“Did you know she could do that?” Lena whispers to Maxima, nearly tripping over her own feet. Fuck, she’s out of shape.

“Yeah. All Kryptonians can when they’re exposed to the yellow sun. Didn’t she tell you?”

Lena looks back at where Kara’s doing summersaults mid-air. “Nope, she didn’t. I guess she thought I already knew.”

“I think we all thought that,” Comet says as he runs past the two of them. Looking over his shoulder, he grins a blindingly charming smile. “Come on, ladies, keep it up.”

“Oh, you didn’t,” Maxima shouts, sprinting after him at such a high speed she almost turns into a blur. Comet screeches and tries to outrun her, but she tackles him to the ground without much effort, and grins back at him. “Guess you were too slow for me.”

Lena looks down at her sweatpants and T-shirt, wondering if she stays on this school for a long enough time she’ll develop powers too. Her feet don’t seem to be moving any quicker yet.

“Alright, gather around,” Their teacher, Teef Quittip, says. He’s standing on two muscular legs, with four even more muscular arms crossed over his evenly muscular chest. He’s bald, and his eyes resemble those of a cat—slit pupils and all. When he speaks, Lena notices his tongue is blue, only a few shades darker than his skin. Next to him, even Tsavo looks small.

“Since today’s the first day, I want to see where you are all at with your fighting skills. That’s why we’re going to be sparring each other in a tournament type of game, and the last one standing will be declared the winner. You’re allowed to use weapons and other materials, but be reminded that you are in class, not fighting an actual battle. When your opponent taps out, you stop fighting immediately. Understood?”

“Understood,” the class echoes.

“Good. Alright then, time for the first match. Kara Zor-El vs. Zypsoln Ap.”

Kara and a boy with a long scaly tail Lena has never seen before step forward. Neither of them seem afraid. Why do they not look afraid? Lena’s shitting her pants at the thought of having to  _ physically fight someone _ . Does no one else think this is strange?

Kara bends her knees a little, balling her hands into fists as she gets into position. Across from her, Zypsoln does the same. Still, they both seem calm. Kara’s even smiling a little. Her eyes flicker over to where Lena’s sitting, and her smile widens.

Lena tries to smile back, but she’s pretty certain she’s going to see Kara  _ die _ in a minute, and there’s nothing smile-worthy about that.

If only Lex knew they had to fight each other at this school.

“And…fight,” Mr. Quittip says.

In an instant, Kara turns into a blur as she charges at Zypsoln, who dodges her with ease. He grabs at her cape, but Kara’s too fast, flying up high to avoid his hands. Apparently not everyone can fly, and Zypsoln looks lost for a moment, before jumping onto a wall and  _ climbing it _ . His hands and feet make a squishy sound every time he latches onto the wall, and his tail is moving back and forth as he uses it to balance himself. Kara doesn’t seem impressed. As soon as he’s within reach, she floats towards the other side of the room. This happens a few times, and even from where Lena’s sitting on the floor, she can see Zypsoln’s arms starting to shake. Kara must have seen it, too, because she flies just close enough to grab him by the shoulders and slam-dunk him into the gym mat. For a few seconds, he doesn’t move. Then he taps the mat three times, and Kara wins the match.

While Mr. Quittip calls for Tsavo and Comet, Kara sits down next to Lena. She hasn’t broken a sweat.

“What did you think?” she asks, adjusting her cape behind her.

“I think this man is insane for making us fight each other,” Lena says under her breath, stomach tight with anxiety. “If I’d know this was going to happen, I would have skipped.”

Kara chuckles. “It’s all part of training. Not all of us have the luxury of saving the world from the safety of a lab, you know? Where I come from, bad guys have to be fought off in combat.”

“Same for Earth, but that doesn’t mean  _ I _ want to do it. We have people like Wonder Woman for that sort of stuff.”

Kara’s grin turns into a soft smile. “Ah, look. You’re not going to get hurt. It may look rough, but everyone here is on the same side. If you don’t want to fight, just tap out. But you will have to learn some techniques eventually, if you want to pass the class.”

“Yeah,” Lena nods shakily. “At least I’ll be able to mentally prepare myself next time.”

“That’s my girl,” Kara says, tightly wrapping one arm around Lena’s shoulder. “I, on the other hand, am planning on being victorious today.”

“Stick that victory up your butt,” Maxima says from Lena’s other side. “Last time we sparred  _ I _ won, remember? I’m not planning on losing that streak.”

Kara rolls her eyes. “Lena’s rooting for me. Aren’t you, Lena?”

“If you promise not to break my shoulder,” Lena says, pushing at Kara’s hand on her shoulder. “I know you mean well, but it sort of hurts, actually.”

“Oh, shit,” Kara says, pulling away. “Sorry. I didn’t know you were so…”

“Weak?”

“Fragile. I’ve never met a human before, except Ms. Prince, and I’m starting to think she’s not exactly average.”

“Far above average,” Lena nods. “It’s why she’s a superhero, remember? Fast and strong and a great fighter.”

“Faster and stronger than me?” Kara asks, knitting her eyebrows together. “I’d spar with her, if it weren’t inappropriate.”

Lena shrugs. “I don’t know. Depends on how fast and strong you are, and how fast and strong she is.”

“Obviously,” Maxima says. She nods her head at the gym mat, where Tsavo is lying on his back. “Comet won, by the way.”

Tsavo walks back to his spot on the floor with a slight limp, but judging by the smile on his face when Comet sits down next to him it’s not too bad.

A few more fights happen, until only Lena and Maxima are left. As they make their way to the gym mat, Lena shoots Kara a scared glance, who in turn gives Lena an encouraging smile.

“Please don’t hurt me,” Lena says, for once not caring about embarrassing herself in gym class by being the worst.

“I won’t, don’t worry,” Maxima says, with a reassuring nod. She bends through her knees the same way Kara did before, and, not knowing what else to do, Lena copies her.

When Mr. Quittip calls the start sign, Lena barely has time to process what’s happening before something collides with her body and she’s thrown back against the gym mat. There’s a strong arm wrapped around her waist, and her neck feels like she just had a whiplash, but other than that she’s not hurt, just dazed. She taps out.

Maxima helps her to her feet while Mr. Quittip takes a few notes with two of his hands, holding a stopwatch in the other. “Alright,” he says. “We’ll need to work on your reflexes. Do you have any experience in martial arts? Anything at all?”

Lena tries to shake her head, but her neck screams in protest, and she presses her fingertips against the spot where it hurts. “No, I haven’t.” She almost adds, ‘I came here to learn about science, not fighting,’ but she bites her tongue. Kara’s right—some people need to fight to protect their planet, and as long as she doesn’t have to actually fight people, she’s willing to give the class a try.

Mr. Quittip scribbles something down, waving his free hand to where everyone’s sitting. He announces the winners of the first round, and teams them up for the second. Kara, Comet, and Maxima are among them, and all three of them seem excited to go again. 

Lena sits out the rest of the class leaning against Tsavo, something she initially never thought would happen, as they nurse their wounds, and cheer on their friends. Turns out he’s warm and soft, and able to offer the exact comfort her body wants right now.

They watch as Kara wins her fight against Comet, and Maxima wins hers. They watch as the two of them eliminate the others in the third round, before getting ready to go up against each other. The final fight is something Lena has never seen before—and something she can barely see. Between Kara and Maxima, they’re both incredibly fast, and most of what is happening is nearly undetectable for Lena’s human eyes. Every now and then there’s the sound of flesh colliding with flesh, or flesh against metal, and as it turns out the grunts actors let out in the movies are  _ not _ exaggerated from reality. It seems to go on forever, but in the end Maxima’s tapping out after being thrown into all four walls, the ceiling, and the ground. There’s blood trickling down her chin, and when she gets up from the gym mat she’s swaying a little—enough for Kara to carefully lift her off of her feet.

“Should I take her to medical?” she asks, a slight tremor in her voice.

“No, I’m fine,” Maxima tries to say, but she winces and wraps one arm around her ribs. “On second thought—sir?”

“Go ahead,” Mr. Quittip nods, not the slightest bit upset by how brutal this fight went down. “Congratulations, Kara. You have proven your skills once again.”

Kara gives him a strained smile, before flying out of the room with Maxima in her arms. Lena wants to get up and follow them, but Tsavo puts his paw on her shoulder. “Better give them some time. They always do this. It’s, like, their way of bonding, I guess. Maxima will be fine. She heals fast.”

Lena chews her bottom lip, unsure how to say she wasn’t worried about Maxima without sounding like a complete asshole. She just can’t believe none of this affects Kara. Even on Crucible, knowing you knocked your friend into the hospital can’t be a good feeling.

 

~

 

Neither Kara nor Maxima show up for the next class. During lunch, Lena, Tsavo, and Comet go down to medical to look for them, but a friendly nurse with three eyes and a heavy accent tells them Maxima has already been discharged.

Tsavo and Comet share a look, before deciding Kara and Maxima are probably in Maxima’s room. Once they’ve made their way to the residency wing, Lena realizes they’re in her and Kara’s hallway, and for some reason knowing that Maxima’s room is just down the hall doesn’t sit right with her.

Comet knocks on a door just a few down from Kara’s, and a muffled voice tells them something in a language that sounds a lot like singing. Two seconds later, the door is pulled open, and Kara’s smiling face appears in the doorway.

“Hey guys, took you long enough.”

“We went to medical first,” Tsavo says, pushing past Kara to enter Maxima’s room. He starts talking in the same, song-like language from before, his voice suddenly a lot more pleasant to listen to even though Lena has no idea what he’s saying.

Comet steps inside, too, leaving only Lena to linger in the doorway. She’s not sure whether she has the right to just come in, especially since she still doesn’t know much about Maxima’s culture and they’re barely friends. But Kara gives her a look, before pulling her inside—a lot gentler this time, thankfully.

Maxima’s room is  _ bright _ . The walls seem almost luminescent, and on top of the usual artificial lighting, the fake window adds even more light. All the furniture is made from nearly fluorescent colored materials, and Lena can’t look at one spot for a long time without it hurting her eyes. Maxima’s bed is tucked away in one corner, with a sitting area in another, and a small gym area across the room.

Maxima’s sitting upright in the bed, with Comet and Tsavo on the couch. If they’re bothered by the bright lighting, they don’t show it. The three of them are speaking in the song-like language, although Maxima’s singing is a little clearer and feels more natural. It must be Almeracian.

“Guys,” Kara says, plopping down at the end of Maxima’s bed, which sort of makes Lena’s stomach twist. “English, remember? Lena doesn’t speak any other languages yet.”

Lena gives them an awkward smile from where she’s standing in the middle of the room. “Yeah, sorry.”

“Oh, right, no problem,” Maxima says, smiling up at Lena. “Tsavo says you were worried about me, but don’t worry, I’m tougher than that. This one kicking my ass today,” she points at Kara, “doesn’t mean anything. Next time  _ I’ll _ be the one carrying  _ her _ to medical.”

“It’s true,” Comet nods. “They rotate beating the other up. It’s kinda hot, actually.”

When Maxima punches him in the jaw, she doesn’t look like she got beaten up at all anymore, and Lena lets out a breath of relief. “Oh, fuck off, asshole.”

“Ow,” Comet yelps, covering his face with his hands. “That  _ hurt _ !”

“You deserved that,” Kara says, high-fiving Maxima.

Tsavo gives him an apologetic look. “Yeah, you kinda did.”

Comet’s eyes find Lena’s, and he raises his eyebrows in hopes for her support. Lena throws her hands up in the air. “As a woman I’m completely on Maxima’s side. And aren’t you supposed to be invincible anyway?”

Everyone laughs, including Comet, and Lena relaxes. Even though she’s starting to feel more and more comfortable around these people, she’s only known them for a couple of days, and with all these different cultures she’s treading lightly, often unsure what might offend whom. 

She catches Kara smiling at her with a soft look in her eyes, and she returns the smile without a second thought.

Lunch break flies by, and Maxima declares that she’s ready to get back to class again. To prove her point to a worried Kara and Tsavo, she jumps out of bed with an unnecessary salto, and whens he lands on her feet without wincing from any leftover injuries, they let her.

Lena, glad to be leaving Maxima’s too-bright room, finds herself walking back to the academic wing next to Kara, a few steps behind the others.

“Are you okay?” Kara asks, eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “You seemed pretty upset in class.”

“Things are just really different here on Crucible. I’m not used to having to fight my friends, or anyone, for class.”

Kara reaches out to touch Lena’s wrist, giving it a soft squeeze. “Neither was I when I first got here. On Krypton, we don’t usually solve our problems with hand-to-hand combat, unless you’re one of the members of the Military Guild that goes out into the field to apprehend hostiles. It took a few weeks before I got comfortable enough to actually apply the techniques we learned in class, but ultimately they do make me better prepared to protect my planet, you know? Give it time.”

Lena sighs. She knows that Kara’s right, but that doesn’t mean the whole idea sits well with her. 

In front of them, Maxima has hopped on Tsavo’s back, holding on to his fur as he gallops through the hallways. She’s laughing, and calling for Comet to keep up with them, nothing indicating she wasn’t even able to walk barely three hours ago.

Kara’s hand twitches around her wrist, and heat rushes up to Lena’s face. She suppresses the urge to look down, instead moving her hand to tangle her fingers with Kara’s. Next to her, Kara lets out an almost inaudible sigh, and Lena has to look away to hide her smile.

 

~

 

Finding a routine at Crucible is surprisingly easy. Every day Lena wakes up to artificial light peering through the curtains, tries to sleep through it until Kara, and sometimes also Maxima, knock on her door and she has to quickly throw on some clothes to make it in time for breakfast, and then classes start. Aside from martial arts, Lena really likes all of them, especially the ones that really challenge her way of thinking. She learns things she never would’ve thought possible every day, and even when the thinks she can’t be surprised by anything anymore something new pops up and baffles her mind all over again.

Every few days she sends a video message to Lex, and she usually gets one back the next day, talking about her classes and all the things she’s learning. She tells him about Wonder Woman, and sends a picture that she had Kara take of her and Ms. Prince, which sparks a conversation about space travel and how it’s possible that she can get back and forth between Earth and Crucible so fast when Lena had to travel for a week to even  _ get  _ to Crucible.

(When Lena asks Kara the next day, she explains the school has a special portal system that adapts to one person’s DNA. Everyone gets one to go back and forth, but for the first trip outward you need to be present to have it adjusted to you specifically. That’s why they can’t be used to get to the school for the first time, and why Lena had to travel for such a long time.)

Talking to Lex on a regular basis and sharing stories with him makes her feel closer to home, and less like she’s missing out on everything back on Earth. His normal American accent makes her sigh with relief every time, because even though everyone’s English on Crucible is great, she can’t get used to some of their accents and how strong they are.

She misses Lex a lot, and more than once she wishes he could be there with her and experience all of this, too, but when she tells him that he smiles and says that they couldn’t have made a better decision choosing her instead of him, and that he’s proud of her. She cries a little, and he smiles that lopsided grin of him she loves so much until she feels better.

It’s not that she’s lonely. Kara, Maxima, Tsavo, and Comet are all great. They’ve quickly accepted her into their group of friends, and she doesn’t feel like an outsider anymore all of the time. But it’s clear they’ve known each other for a lot longer than they’ve known her, and they have a lot of inside jokes Lena doesn’t understand.

And sometimes she catches Maxima staring at Kara with such awe in her eyes that it makes Lena wonder if Kara was really right when she said they were better off as friends, but she pushes that feeling down every time before it can even fully form. She doesn’t even tell Lex about it.

 

~

 

A few weeks into the semester, Lena’s bent over a Kryptonian chemistry textbook with a notebook and a translation sheet when there’s a knock on the door of her room.

“Just a second,” she calls, finishing writing down the translation for a formula, before getting up to answer the door. Kara’s on the other side with a sheepish smile and her hands stuffed into her pockets.

“Hi,” she says, letting out a breath. “Are you busy?”

Lena smiles in surprise. “Kinda? I was doing homework. Kryptonian script is really complicated.”

“Maybe I can help? I am, after all, Kryptonian.”

“ _ Yes _ ,” Lena says, dragging Kara inside to her desk. “Look, I’m trying to translate these basic formulas, but I keep confusing your letters. The cheat sheet I made doesn’t really help.”

Kara takes one glance at the translations in front of her, and points at two letters. “You got these messed up. If you switch them around it probably makes more sense.”

For a moment, Lena stares at her mistake, and sighs. “ _ Fuck _ . That’s why none of it translated to things I knew. If this means, hold on—” She scratches out the mistakes and rewrites them, groaning when she messes up the Kryptonian letter  _ again _ .

“Here, let me do it,” Kara says, taking one of Lena’s other pens and swiftly corrects Lena’s mistakes. “See? Now it makes sense. So this,” she scribbles something underneath one of the other formula’s on the sheet, “is phenylethylamine.”

Lena stares at it for a while, trying to make sense of it all, before sighing in defeat. “You’re right. Thanks.”

Kara gives her a smile. “You’re welcome.”

“Do you mind if I…?” Lena gestures at the handful of other wrong formula’s she’d written down so far.

“No, of course not. Go ahead.” Kara smiles, sitting down at the couch. She pulls out her phone, a hyper-modern device that’s basically see-through and almost as thin as a sheet of paper, and taps the screen a few times.

Lena spends a few minutes correcting her homework, finding it to be much easier now that she knows what she did wrong all this time. Things finally make sense to her, even though these are still just the most basic things Kara must’ve learned years ago.

When she’s done, she turns to Kara. “So, why did you drop by? Did something happen?”

“Oh,” Kara says, pushing her phone back into her pocket. “No, nothing happened. I, um, I was actually wondering if you wanted to maybe watch a movie? With me?”

Lena’s eyes widen for a second. “You want to watch a movie with me? Not, like, Maxima or someone else?”

Kara’s face falls for a second, but she quickly regains herself. “I don’t wanna watch a movie with Maxima or someone else. I want to watch with you. Unless you don’t want to, in which case—” 

“I want to,” Lena interrupts her. She frowns. “Sorry for being weird about it. Um, did you bring any movies with you? I didn’t know you guys had movies, too.”

“Everyone has movies, Lena. It’s probably the one universal thing we all have in common” Kara grins, and the way she pronounces Lena’s name makes Lena’s stomach flip. “There’s a whole bunch of them stored on Crucible’s cloud. Have you ever seen a Kryptonian movie? I’ll show you my favorite, if you’d like.”

Lena plops down on the couch next to Kara, propping her head up on her hand. “Sure. Surprise me.”

Kara blinks once before nodding. She reaches forward to grab the remote from underneath the television, turning it on. She flips through a bunch of menus in a foreign language, before hitting a button that turns everything into English. After that she opens a program and scrolls through a large selection of movies from all kinds of planets. Choosing one, she leans back as the opening titles start playing. Her arm brushes past Lena’s, and Lena’s heart skips a beat.

As it turns out, Kryptonian movies aren’t so different from Earthen ones. Both have characters and plot, and the biggest differences Lena can find are better quality special effects, and cultural influences. Lena feels like she’s learning more about Kryptonian culture from the casual way it’s implemented into the scenes and Kara’s explanations every now and then than from her Culture and History of Krypton class.

It’s nice, and it gets even better when Kara drops her head on Lena’s shoulder halfway through the movie. Unable to resist the temptation, Lena leans the side of her head against Kara’s, tangling their fingers together with a swift movement before she can change her mind.

Just because Maxima isn’t over Kara, clearly doesn’t mean Kara feels the same way. 

For the first time since arriving on Crucible and meeting Kara, Lena allows herself to admit her feelings. Being around Kara is easy, like this is where she’s supposed to be, and the hopeless romantic inside of her insists it’s meant to be. That Crucible recruiting Lena has nothing to do with her academic capabilities, and instead everything to do with Kara being there, too. It’s bullshit, of course, but the thought of it makes her stomach churn.

Something flashes on the screen, and Kara laughs into Lena’s shoulder. Her fingers squeeze Lena’s hand a little tighter, and she rubs her thumb over the back of Lena’s hand, and the nonchalance of it all sends a rush through Lena’s body.

She wants to kiss Kara. 

She sits up, ignoring the movie playing in the background in favor of looking at Kara, her eyes falling down to her lips. 

“What’s wrong?” Kara asks, a confused look flashing in her eyes, before she notices Lena’s staring. “Oh.”

Lena’s not sure about consent on other planets, but she is barely able to mutter, “CanIkissyou?” before Kara leans in and presses her lips against Lena’s.

Suddenly Kara’s everywhere. Her lips are soft and gentle, almost curling up into a smile as she deepens the kiss, tongue licking its way into Lena’s mouth. Her hands are on the sides of Lena’s face, her waist, around her neck. One of her knees is pressing between Lena’s thighs as her body flushes against Lena’s.

Lena cups Kara’s face with one hand, dropping the other to the small of Kara’s back to pull her even closer. Her eyes are closed, possibly were even before they started kissing, and ignores the way her lungs are starting to burn in favor of continuing to kiss Kara.

Kara’s a really good kisser. It’s easy to get lost in her.

With gentle pushes, Kara persuades Lena onto her back, using one of her elbows to hover over Lena. Lena’s breath hitches when Kara grabs a fistful of Lena’s shirt, nails scratching against the soft skin of Lena’s stomach, and her eyes fly open to meet Kara’s blue ones silently asking for permission.

Lena nods, slightly overwhelmed with the way Kara’s looking at her—gentle and soft and hungry and lovingly, all at the same time—sitting up a little to allow Kara to remove her shirt completely. With a smirk, Kara takes off her own shirt, too, and Lena swallows at the sight of Kara’s abs, her mouth suddenly dry. 

Warmth spreads through her body as Kara kisses her again, slowly trailing down from her mouth to her jaw to her collarbone to the top of her breasts. Kara easily lifts Lena up with some of that Kryptonian strength, swiftly undoing the clasps of her bra, before moving up to kiss her again.

Her fingertips tease the edge of Lena’s jeans, and Lena’s hips buck involuntarily. Kara grins. Without warning, she dips her head down to Lena’s breast again, swirling her tongue around the nipple, and Lena lets out a sharp breath at the sensation.

Kara grins again, tugging off Lena’s jeans and panties in one swift movement, cupping her center with her free hand. Almost instantly, her touch is met with another rush of heat and wetness. 

Lena moans.

“Is this okay?” Kara asks, her voice hoarse.

“Don’t stop,” Lena stammers, barely able to say words. “Whatever you do, don’t stop.”

“Okay,” Kara smirks, kissing just below Lena’s belly button. She pushes one finger inside.

With another moan, Lena grabs at Kara’s hair, hoping she doesn’t hurt her yet at the same time not caring if she hurts her at all, and Kara chuckles under her breath. She curls her finger, and Lena’s hips buck again, harder this time. 

She squeezes her eyes shut, letting her mouth fall open and—

A knock on the door. 

They both freeze, turning to look at the door.

“Just a second,” Lena manages to get out, sitting up. 

Kara stares at the door with squinted eyes, sighing loudly. “Fuck, it’s Maxima. Um—” She reaches for her shirt, tugging it over her head. Throwing Lena’s clothes at her, she scrambles off the couch towards the door.

Lena hastily puts her clothes back on, before giving Kara a nod.

Kara opens the door. “Hello.”

“Hey, Lena, is K—” Maxima’s eyes widen and she stops mid-sentence. Her jaw sets as her gaze flickers from Kara to Lena back to Kara, and her nostrils flare as she crosses her arms over her chest. “Kara? Can I talk to you outside?”

Kara shoots a glance over her shoulder, giving Lena an apologetic look. “Sure.” And, to Lena, “I’ll be right back.”

The door closes behind her, and Lena allows herself to breathe. She falls back into the couch, covering her face with her hands. Kara’s ex-girlfriend knocking on her door in the middle of sex is very high on the list of anti-climaxes. Possibly even in the top three.

With a sigh, she runs a hand through her hair to make it look less post-sex, and sits back down to wait for Kara to come back, even though she’s really not in the mood to continue anymore.

It only takes a couple of minutes for Kara to knock on the door again, but when Lena goes to open it, Maxima’s still there. 

The two of them step inside, and Kara waits until Maxima has closed the door behind her before taking a deep breath. “I have to go. Crucible’s under attack.”

 

~

 

Lena stops pacing up and down her room to look at Kara again. “So you’re saying the school tried to pick up a hostile alien that attacked the preceptor, broke free, and is now roaming around the building?”

Maxima frowns. “Technically we’re all aliens to each other, so I’m not sure calling her one makes a lot of sense in this context.”

“Yes,” Kara says, shooting Maxima a glare. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Which is why we’ve been called to help, along with anyone that feels like practicing their skills in the field. She’s out there somewhere, and she might be dangerous.”

“Her name is Reign,” Maxima says, earning another glare from Kara and also one from Lena this time. She defensively throws up her hands. “What? Just thought I’d share that information, since, you know, ‘she’ can get a bit confusing.”

Kara pinches the bridge of her nose. “Right. Okay. Anyway, I’m going to help find this Reign, before anyone else gets hurt.”

Lena squares her shoulders. “I’m coming, too.”

“No, you’re not,” Kara says. “It’s way too dangerous, and you’re not ready for battle.”

“I’m going if you’re going,’ Lena says, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t care if it’s dangerous. I wanna help.”

“Let her help,” Maxima chimes in, but she’s shut down by another one of Kara’s glares. 

“If you go out there, you could get hurt,” Kara tells Lena, sounding a lot like she’s lecturing a child. Her face softens. “I don’t know what I would do if you got hurt.”

“You could get hurt, too, but you didn’t hesitate.”

Maxima rolls her eyes. “We don’t have time to waste, guys. Make a decision, Kara. If she’s with us and the boys, she’ll be safe enough. Almost just as safe as if she stays here.”

“Exactly,” Lena says.

Kara stares at Lena for what feels like forever, worry reflecting in her eyes. Then she sighs. “Okay,  _ fine _ . But you stay close to me, and if anything unpredictable happens, you run and hide until one of us comes to find you.”

Lena nods.

 

~

 

They’re joined by Tsavo and Comet just after they leave the residency wing, the both of them looking at Kara in surprise when they see Lena. Apparently Kara’s protective streak of Lena has been a topic of conversation before.

It’s strange to see the four of them on full alert outside of the gym, wearing their normal clothes. Lena has seen them spar and train together, and she knows Maxima is right—she’s almost as safe with them as in her room. Her friends are four of the top students at Crucible, and it shows.

It’s clear they’ve been preparing for something like this for a long time. They walk in some sort of formation; Kara, as the unspoken leader of their little troop, is in front, closely followed by Maxima, then Lena, and Tsavo and Comet are in the back. All of them are slightly hunched forward, like the soldiers Lena’s seen in movies,  and somehow their footsteps are completely quiet, even Tsavo’s. 

It makes Lena feel immature for pushing Kara to take her with them. She’s clearly not ready for any of this, but she couldn’t just sit around and wait for everyone else to help, being unable to do anything herself.  It’s stupid, she realizes that now, but it’s too late to turn back.

For a good thirty minutes, they roam the hallways of Crucible together. None of them say a word, following Kara’s hand signs without a second thought. They all trust her judgment, even Maxima, who has a knack of disagreeing with Kara for the purpose of disagreeing.

A few times they come across other groups of students, all of them in the same formation, all of them quiet and focused. 

For the first time since her arrival, Lena can’t hear any sound except the low buzzing of the life support systems. 

All goes well, until they round the corner into the cafeteria. Kara instantly holds up her hand, signaling at the rest of them to stop. She gestures at something across the room from them, amidst the buffet, and they all crane their necks to see it. 

Reign.

Easily six feet tall, almost entirely made of muscle, with black pants and some pieces of armor covering pale blue skin. Deep red hair, kept together in a braid, falls down to her waist. 

She’s terrifying.

Lena swallows, only realizing she’s taking slow steps backwards when she bumps into Tsavo. “Sorry,” she whispers.

“Shh,” Maxima whispers, and then, to Kara, “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” Kara admits, glancing from her team back at Reign. She’s quiet for a second. Then, “I’ll try to talk to her.”

“Maybe she’s just hungry,” Comet offers. “Give her some food.”

“Be careful,” Tsavo says.

Lena tries to speak, but her tongue is heavy in her mouth, and her throat is closed up with fear. Whoever this Reign is, she looks dangerous. More dangerous than anything she’s ever seen before.

“Wait out of sight,” Kara says, waving her hand at the rest of them. “Maybe she’ll listen if it’s just me.”

Maxima looks like she’s about to object, something Lena can wholeheartedly agree with, but then she closes her mouth and does what Kara asked. Lena has no choice but to comply as well.

Kara takes a deep breath. She looks at Lena. Then she steps into the cafeteria.

“Hi,” she says, in English. “My name is Kara Zor-El, and I’m—”

She’s cut off by a loud roar, and Lena’s heart skips a beat. She wants to dart out and see if Kara’s okay, but Tsavo, who seems to be able to read her mind, grabs her arm and forces her to stay put.

“Do you understand English?” Kara tries again, when the roar ends.

A voice, low and raspy, says something in another languages, and it takes Lena a few seconds to register it as Kryptonian. Around her, the others look at each other in surprise as well.

Kara effortlessly continues in Kryptonian, although Lena can’t understand what she’s saying beyond her name and that she means no harm. When there’s no response, she even tries Comet’s tactic of offering some food, but even that attempt goes to shame.

A tearing sound reaches Lena’s ears, and in an instant, the four of them waiting around the corner, are on even higher alert. A crash, and Comet darts from their hiding spot to come to Kara’s aid. He shouts something, and, to Lena’s relief, Kara answers. 

And then everything happens really fast. There’s another crash, and Tsavo and Maxima leave Lena’s side to run into the cafeteria as well. Lena’s first instinct is to run in the opposite direction, but she takes a deep breath to ground herself, and peers around the corner.

Three of her friends have surrounded Reign and are slowly closing in on her, while Maxima is a few feet away from them, talking to her wristband—calling for backup? Updating someone on the current state of affairs? 

Kara continues to talk to Reign in Kryptonian, her voice trembling but stern, and with every step she takes, she says the same words; some kind of reassurance that they mean no harm.

It’s not enough. Reign looks around, panicked at the sight of three Crucible students approaching her from all angles, and bursts through their circle with so much power it knocks Tsavo off his feet, and Comet flying straight into a table.

Kara chases her, but Reign is running towards the exit now, and Lena freezes as she watches her come closer and closer.

From behind Lena, she hears a couple of voices shouting, and when she turns around she sees Diana Prince  and Mr. Quittip running towards her. Relief washes over her, because surely  _ Wonder Woman _ must be able to help. But it’s short-lived

Barely seconds before they reach her, Reign comes running around the corner and crashes into Lena at full speed. 

Lena hears the breaking of  bones before she feels the pain, but once she does feel it, it’s all-consuming. Her right arm feels like it’s is in flames and black spots cloud her vision as her body goes into shock, and she staggers backwards, slumping against the wall. 

All around her, people are shouting, and there are more crashes. Lena wants to yell at them to shut up, but her head is pounding and her arm is on fire, and she can’t do much of anything anymore. She clenches her eyes shut against the sound, but then a pair of soft hands touch her face, and a sweet voice calls her name repeatedly.

“Lena? Lena! Stay with me, Lena. Come on, you can do it. Hold on, Lena. Lena!”

Lena wants to open her eyes and respond, but her headache drowns out the noise, and her eyelids feel like they’re made of lead. 

Hands slip under her knees and shoulders, and she wants to cry out when more pain shoots up her arm. Maybe she does. 

Then her head lolls backwards, and she’s flying.

 

~

 

In her dream, Kara’s hovering a few feet above the ground, just out of reach. She’s facing away from Lena, staring at something in the distance. Every time Lena takes a step forward to reach for Kara’s hand, she floats away. She turns around, her expression one of pure horror, and opens her mouth in a silent scream. Then she’s pulled backwards, like there’s a rope tied around her waist, and she disappears from sight. Finally, her screams reach Lena’s ears.

 

~

 

Lena groggily blinks her eyes open. Blinding lights make her headache flare up even more, and she closes her eyes with a groan.

Through closed eyelids she sees the light switch off, and slowly she dares to try again. A tall figure is standing over her, arms crossed over her chest. Dark hair is flowing down past her shoulders, but it’s too dark to see her face.

Lena blankly stares at her for a  few moments. Then she remembers, all at once.

“Kara,” she tries to say, but her voice doesn’t sound like hers at all. “Where’s Kara?”

“Kara is fine,” the woman says, and it takes Lena a second to place the voice. Wonder Woman. Diana Prince. “She sat here by your side for hours, until we finally managed to persuade her to get some sleep.”

A wave of relief washes over Lena, and she somehow doesn’t feel as heavy anymore. Kara’s okay. Kara’s not dead. Kara’s not hurt.

But she is. Her right arm feels like it’s burning up from the inside out, and there’s a cast all the way from her hand up to her armpit. There’s a needle with an IV in her left hand, and her head feels like it’s going to explode.

She looks at Diana again. Since Lena doesn’t take any Earthen classes, this is only the second time they’re in close proximity of each other, but being in her presence makes Lena feel safe, somehow.

“What happened?” she manages to get out. “Did we win?”

Diana gives her a sad smile. “Reign has been apprehended. We’re currently reassessing her capabilities, and taking her recent outburst into consideration to see if she can still be a part of Crucible’s student body.”

Lena’s eyes widen. “She’s still going to be a student? But she’s dangerous.”

“Like I said, we’re working on it. The final decision is the preceptor’s to make, and I trust the outcome will satisfy everyone. Obviously, if she does get admitted, she’ll need some extra training to make sure a situation like this doesn’t occur again, but after you got hurt she calmed down enough to be talked to.”

“Kara tried talking to her, before.”

“I’m aware.” Diana takes a breath. “Reign perceived her, Tsavo, and Comet as a threat. Eventually, Maxima was the one to talk her down enough we didn’t have to sedate her.”

“Maxima?”

“Yes. She’s currently with Reign and the preceptor, since she seems to be the only one that Reign trusts. But you shouldn’t worry, she’s completely safe.”

Lena gives this a thought. She feels bad for thinking it, but she’s glad Maxima has something new to do, rather than stare longingly at Kara. 

“Lena?” Diana says. “Why were you with them? Kara told me you insisted on coming along, even though you knew it was dangerous and you were still unprepared for battle.”

“I—” Lena starts, but how do you tell Wonder Woman that the reason you recklessly ran straight into danger is because you felt useless? She can’t imagine Diana ever feeling that way, like everyone else was doing something with their life, and she couldn’t just stand by and watch. She’s Earth’s greatest warrior. She saves people on a daily basis, gracefully and effortlessly. How can Lena even begin to explain what it feels like to be unable to  _ help _ .

But Diana seems to know what’s on her mind, somehow. Her face softens, and she asks if she can sit down at the edge of the bed. Lena nods, and she sits. “Do you know why Crucible recruited you?”

“I can understand complicated science,” Lena says hesitantly, unsure what any of this has to do with it.

“Exactly. And what’s Earth’s most important way of protecting itself?”

Lena frowns. “You.”

Diana smiles, shaking her head. “Thank you, but no. It’s science. I fight with sword and shield, but time has proven that these weapons aren’t as efficient against large armies unless the people yielding them have been training for it all their lives. And even then, a flying bullet can still harm a warrior. On Crucible, you learn about alien technology and science that is hundreds, if not thousands of years ahead of ours. With that knowledge, you’ll be able to progress Earth’s defenses and protect its citizens, without harming anyone.”

“Anyone can do that. Lex, my brother, is just as smart as I am. Maybe even smarter. If it’s just about science, why choose me? Why not choose someone who’s also able to physically help someone by your side?”

“It’s not just about science, Lena,” Diana says patiently. “Do you know the difference between a hero and a villain?”

Lena purses her lips. All these questions are making her head throb even more, and she wishes Diana would just say what’s on her mind without making Lena think about these things. But she sighs, and shrugs. “One is good and one is bad?”

“Yes, but also—if granted with powers, or, in this case, extreme knowledge, a villain would use it for their personal gain. A hero—”

“—uses it to help others,” Lena understands. She looks at Diana. “Does Crucible really trust me to be a hero?”

“We do,” Diana nods, a soft smile spreading across her face. She gets up, patting the bump in the covers that is Lena’s knee. “Get some rest, Lena. You’ve earned your spot on Crucible Academy, long before you were even part of it.”

 

~

 

“Did she really say you’re a hero?” Kara asks, wide-eyed.

“Sort of,” Lena nods, tangling her fingers with Kara’s. “She’s so nice. On pictures in the news she always looks kind of stoic, but she’s not like that at all.”

Kara smiles, capturing Lena’s lips between her own. “I’m proud of you.”

It’s been a week since Reign’s attack, and between Crucible’s super fast healing process making Lena sleep through that time and Kara’s classes, they haven’t had a lot of time to talk and catch up. Most of the time, Kara just crawled into Lena’s hospital bed and they cuddled for a couple hours, Lena drifting in and out of sleep as her broken arm and shaken brain healed themselves rapidly.

But today, Lena’s really awake for the first time, and it’s the weekend so Kara doesn’t have any classes. They’re still cuddling, but with actual conversations added to the mix this time.

“Hey, when do you think they’ll let you out of here?” 

“I’ve heard the nurses say a couple of days, but that might just be my imagination,” Lena says into Kara’s hair. She has her good arm slung around Kara’s shoulders, leaning her cheek against the top of Kara’s head. It fits perfectly, and it makes her feel right for the first time in a week.

Kara grins mischievously. “And after that, you’re free to do whatever you want? Because we were kind of in the middle of something last week, and I’d like for us to finish that.”

“Hm-m,” Lena hums. “Yeah, I think I’ll manage that.”

Without warning, Kara slips her hand under the covers, softly scratching at Lena’s stomach and grinning even wider when Lena’s breath hitches. “Good. I’m excited.”

“I can’t wait,” Lena mumbles, lazily leaning into a kiss. Her skin feels like it’s conducting electricity under Kara’s touch, and a shiver runs down her spine as Kara starts kissing her back with a smile. She still can’t believe this is real. Kara Zor-El likes her back. It can’t be real. But it is. 

“Ahem,” a familiar voice says from the doorway, and they both freeze. Kara lets out a soft groan, pulling herself away from Lena’s lips with a pained expression.

Maxima looks like she’d rather die than be here right now, looking away as Kara and Lena untangle themselves from each other until Lena tells her the coast is clear.

(Seriously, when will they be able to make out without Maxima interrupting them? Succes rate: 0.)

“Um, there’s someone here to see you,” Maxima says, and as soon as the words spill out of her mouth, Reign appears next to her, this time dressed in normal clothes, and without the armor.

Lena’s initial reaction is fear, and she reaches for Kara’s hand underneath the covers. Kara squeezes her fingers, sitting up a little straighter. “What is she doing here?”

Reign looks at Maxima, who nudges her forward, into the room. Lena wishes she could run away, but she’s still hooked up to the IV.

“I come to say sorry,” Reign says, voice just as low and raspy as Lena remembers. This time, the shivers down her spine are for a whole different reason. “I did not mean to hurt you. I was scared. I am sorry.”

Next to her, Maxima beams up at her. Reign smiles back a toothed smile, which looks every bit as horrifying, knowing that her teeth could probably rip out Lena’s throat.

Kara’s still protectively hovering in front of Lena. “Is that it? You can leave, now.”

“Kara…” Maxima starts, but Reign puts her hand on her shoulder.

“My sorry is for you, too. I don’t want people to hurt. I am confused about me, but Maxima has been helping. She is nice and patient. I hope you understand.”

Kara says something in Kryptonian, which Lena roughly understands as, “Whatever. You hurt Lena. You can’t take that back, no matter how hard you try.”

Reign replies, her accent in Kryptonian almost as heavy as in English, and Lena doesn’t really understand what she’s saying, but somehow it does make Kara’s shoulders relax a little. 

Lena looks back and forth between them, her fear slowly subsiding. Reign isn’t here to hurt her again, she came to apologize. And despite her size and overall threatening appearance, she looks genuine.

Maxima nudges Reign again, and Reign reaches into her pocket to grab a white piece of cloth. Holding it out to Lena, she bows her head. “I offer peace.”

At that sight, the last of Lena’s fear dissolves, and she barely feels the throbbing in her arm as she reaches up to take the cloth, barely able to suppress a laugh. “I accept your offer.”

“Yay,” Reign says, smiling again. She turns to Maxima. “It worked!”

“I can see that,” Maxima grins back, and something flashes in her eyes. Something Lena recognizes from the way she used to look at Kara. Then she turns back at them. “Alright, we’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.”

She pushes Reign out of the room, the two of them immediately chatting away in Kryptonian, and Kara relaxes into Lena’s side again. 

“What did she say to you?” Lena asks, putting the white cloth on her nightstand. 

Kara sighs. “Apparently Reign is part of a group called the Worldkillers. Their origin is on Krypton, that’s why she speaks Kryptonian. Their purpose was to be used as bioweapons, but after people started to realize they’re real, with feelings and stuff, it started an ethical debate, and they were sent into space. Supposedly they have all these instincts that tell them wreak havoc, but she said she was learning to suppress them, and that if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t be calmly standing there and talk to me instead of break my face. I figured it made sense.”

“Oh.” Lena frowns, processing this new information. “I guess it does. I’m glad she didn’t break your face. I mean, I don’t trust her, but she seems to be trying. She even did her research on the white flag thing.”

“Is that what it was supposed to be? Kind of small for a flag. And besides, I’m pretty sure it’s all Maxima. Reign probably just executed her idea.” 

Lena bites her lip to hide a grin. “You sound jealous.”

Kara huffs. “What? No, I’m not. I don’t want a space puppy following me around like that.”

“I mean of Reign. Maxima clearly likes her. She looks at her the way she used to look at you.” 

“I’m not jealous,” Kara says, kissing Lena to prove her point. “I don’t need Maxima to look at me a certain way when I have you for that.” 

Lena returns the kiss without a second thought. “Do I look at you like that?”

“A little.” Kara pinches her thumb and index finger together to show just the amount. “But I like it.”

“I like you,” Lena whispers.

Kara smiles. “Hmm. I like you, too.”

Lena kisses her again. 

**Author's Note:**

> inspiration for this au and its characters came from the new 52 supergirl, where crucible makes its appearance in the final few issues. i instantly fell in love with the concept and it's been in the back of my mind ever since reading about it, before i pushed it to the front of my mind to start working on it. i hope you loved and enjoyed it as much as i did.
> 
> special thanks to astrid for always being the best beta, and to jess for being hyped about everything i pitch even though i only write 1/10 fic ideas i yell at you about and helping me out with the title for this (which is from moondust by jaymes young by the way).
> 
> it would mean a lot if yall left kudos/comments/hmu on twitter (@luthvers) or tumblr @ lenacorporations or [buy me a coffee](http://ko-fi.com/youmeandem)


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